1Love Redesigned (Lakefront Billionaires, #1)(40)

Nico still values his independence like every normal eight-year-old kid, but sadly, it is only a matter of time before he completely loses his sight, a reality that has been stressing Rafa out as my godson’s vision worsens.

“Sorry you had to cancel your date.” Rafa’s face might be blank, but his eyes remind me of two burning coals.

Ellie smiles. “No worries. We rescheduled for tomorrow.” My cousin makes the most inhuman noise.

Her hazel eyes narrow. “Still struggling with that sore throat of yours?”

“You’re sick?” I ask my cousin.

“Sick of Eleanor’s bullshit is more like it,” he mutters under his breath before turning back toward the hall.

I fight a laugh. “Eleanor?”

“Don’t you dare call me that.” She points a finger at me.

“What’s up with him?” I ask once Rafa is out of hearing distance.

“He’s been like that all week because of the weather.” Ellie’s gaze swings from me to Nico.

There is nothing worse than Hurricane Hillary influencing my cousin’s mood long after their divorce.

I step toward the hall. “I better go before he comes searching for me.”

“Bye, Tío!” Nico gives me one last hug before reaching out for Ellie’s hand. They return to the piano and restart the song.

I find Rafa sitting at the kitchen island, staring at his coffee like it might reveal his fortune.

“You good?” I grab the iced coffee he made me. Rafa might be an irritable dick most of the time now, but he still goes out of his way to do sweet things because he can’t help himself.

He runs his hands through his hair, making a mess of the already-disheveled strands. “Hillary called.”

“Hm.”

His shoulders droop. “She’s flying into Detroit and wants to see Nico.”

“When?”

“The weekend of the Harvest Festival.”

My brows rise. “Is she coming?”

“No.”

“Shocker.” Once the divorce papers were signed, she booked a one-way flight back to Oregon to be with her family and never came back to Lake Wisteria. If it wasn’t for Rafa flying out there so Nico could see his mom, I’m not sure she would have seen him until now.

“Nico’s excited to see her.” His fingers tighten around his mug.

“It’s been what? Four months since he last saw her?”

“Five,” he grunts under his breath.

“I forgot she missed his birthday.”

“I sure didn’t.” His voice reeks of self-loathing.

“You’ve got to stop beating yourself up over her poor decisions.”

“I’m the one who got her pregnant. Who else is there to blame but me?”

“You were barely an adult when all that happened. It’s not like you could have predicted things would turn out this way.”

“No, but that doesn’t stop me from feeling like a stupid fool.”

I shake my head. “You’re too hard on yourself.”

“I’ve been thinking…”

“Stop now while you’re ahead.”

“You’re not going to like this.”

The empty pit in my stomach widens as I say, “Then let’s call it a loss and move on to better subjects, like betting on tomorrow’s soccer game. I’ve got a few of my paver guys—”

“Julian.”

“What’s the problem?”

He stares out the window facing his barn. “I’ve been thinking about moving.”

I blink twice. “What did you say?”

“With Hillary living so far away, I’ve been wondering if it’s in Nico’s best interest for him to live closer to his mom.”

“Is that in your best interest?” Rafa has spent his whole life within the small border of Lake Wisteria, so for him to move...

He rubs his eyes with the heels of his palms. “Forget I said anything.”

A wave of nausea forces me to push my coffee away. “You’re seriously thinking about moving across the country?”

“Only occasionally.”

Losing Rafa and Nico would be devastating for our family. Besides my mom, they’re the only loved ones I have left, so I selfishly don’t want them to move away.

You could find a way to convince Hillary to move somewhere within driving distance, like Chicago or Detroi—

“Don’t mention anything to your mom right now,” he says, stopping me mid-spiral.

“But what if she moves back—”

“Stop.”

“What?” I blink away my confusion.

“This isn’t a problem you can solve.”

“Who said—”

He shuts me up with a single look.

I hold my hands up. “Fine. But talk to me before you make any big decisions.”

“Fair enough.” He scrubs at his cheek. “Anyway, I’m sorry to leave you alone to work the booth without me.”

My mom takes a lot of pride in sharing her grandmother’s champurrado recipe during the Harvest Festival. And ever since we were old enough to be trusted with the responsibility, Rafa and I have teamed up to run the Lopez booth together to make Ma happy and share our Mexican hot chocolate with the visitors.